Adoration Of A Neko
by Scarlet Ari Murai Phoenix
Summary: Prince of Tennis. With a little twist as Tezuka's younger sister. A little EijixOc
1. New People

Scarlet: Well everyone this is my first POT fanfiction. Tell me what you think and so on :3

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Chapter 1: New People

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A girl with goldish brown hair was walking towards the tennis courts with her school bag in one hand and a tennis bag in the other

'Since Onii-chan's team has match at another school, I'll be able to use the courts today' She thought to herself happily

When she got to the courts however, she saw that there were already some people there. 2 older students from the tennis team and what looked like 4 freshmen.

The two guys from the tennis team were telling the freshman to knock down a can for money.

'Tch, he's doing it again. Arai just has to show off' She growled to herself as she walked up to the benches near them, "Are you playing a game? Can I try too?"

Before the long brown hair guy could answer however, a freshman with dark dark greenish hair, a cap, and cat-like eyes stepped up, "You can't hit it dead on"

He took his racket and stepped up to the serving line. With one swift motion, sent the ball flying towards the can, knocking it down.

'Hm..this kid is pretty good' the girl thought, 'Almost as good as Onii-chan'

The lid of the knocked down can came off and out spilled all it's contents of small rocks.

"Ahhhh, the senpais cheated!" Another freshman, with light brown pointed hair accused

"Who said you can use that tone with a junior!" Arai growled

"Just cause you were born earlier doesn't mean anything." The cat-eyes freshman stated

I was going to intervene when a ball hit the can so hard it flew to the cage.

"Wow! Lucky!" Another guy with black hair appeared, a racket in his hand

"Ah..from before.." the brown haired freshman started

"Hey hey Arai. Just because the seniors aren't here.." the new comer said, "Doesn't mean you can bully the new freshman"

"Momo, something came up so I'm leaving first.." Arai and his friend left without another word

"Ah..Momo-kun, you always have to make such an entrance?" The girl laughed walking up to him

"Ari-chan!" Momoshiro exclaimed happily giving the girl a squeezing hug.

"Hey! Let go!" The girl, Ari, whacked him playfully, "I can't breathe"

"Anyway.." Ari looked around at the freshman's faces before landing on the boy with cat-like eyes. It didn't take her arms long to be wrapped around the boys, "Waaaah! Kawaii!!

"Aww..Ari-chan that's not fair.." Momo sighed

"Ryoma-kun!" a voice to the side called

There, running towards us was 2 girls and 2 adults.

"Ja, I'm gonna go now then" Ari let go of the boy and grabbed her things, "See ya tomorrow!"

I got home around 4 and after greeting grandpa, I went straight to bed.

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"Finally!" Ari place the broom back into the closet, 'Of all the times for sensei to ask me to clean the classroom'

Picking up all her things, she made a mad dash to the tennis courts.

'Mou..those two didn't even wait for me either' Ari grumbled

As soon as she got there, she saw that the regulars were just arriving

"Freshman may try hitting balls on an empty court. We want all of you to feel welcome" A familiar voice instructed

"That must be Captain Tezuka" the freshman from yesterday started, "Kind, cool, and awesome!"

Ari stiffled a laugh as another member addressed the previous guy as Oishi instead.

"Hey!" Ari called out happily running towards the gathered group

"Ari-chan!" A cute red head with a bandage on his cheek wave his hand happily greeting her.

"Naa! Eiji-kun, you're squeezing me too tight" Ari laughed as the red head hugged her from behind

"Ah gomen, gomen" Eiji rubbed his head as he let go

"Ari-chan how are you today?" A boy with brown hair and soft smile asked

"I'm good, Fuji-kun" She replied, "Although, some people left me with all the class chores. She glared at Fuji and Eiji who sweatdropped.

"Ssshh.." A sound was heard from behind them

"Ah Kaidoh-kun! You can say hi to me too ya know" Ari teased the poor junior

"Tch!" the bandanna wearing boy looked away.

"That's not fair Ari-chan." Momo stated, "You greeted everyone but me"

"Ah, sorry Momo" She laughed

"Hey! You're that onee-chan from yesterday!" The voice came from the 4 freshman from yesterday.

"Hello, my name is Ari" Ari introduced herself and also learned that their names were Horio, Katou, and Katsuo

"What's your name?" Ari asked the boy that beat Arai in his own game.

"Echizen, Ryoma" He stated pulling his cap over his eyes more"

"Waaaah! Kawaii!" Ari found herself latched onto the boy again

"Nyaaa No fair! No fair!" Ari felt someone else hug her from behind, "I want to hug Ari-chan too!"

"Senpais! You're squashing Ryoma-kun!" Katou exclaimed

"Ehh?" Ari quickly let go, "Gomen ne Ryoma-kun"

"Now I have Ari-chan all for myself" Ari felt Eiji's hold on her getting tigher

"Ari-chan" Oishi addressed me, "We'll be starting practice soon"

"Hai Oishi-kun" She replied, untangling Eiji's arms from around her

"Awww Oishi. That's no fun" Eiji pouted, "Ne ne Ari-chan. Are you staying to watch practice?"

"Mmhmm" She nodded, "Good luck everyone"

I walked over to one of the benches and sat myself down

The regulars were doing an exercise where one side serves the ball and the receiver has to return it back into the basket next to the server.

'As skilled as ever' Ari watched Oishi serve. Suddenly he lobbed it too high and it flew towards Ryoma who looked bored as he raised his racket and smack the ball back into the basket next to Oishi

Everyone stopped what they were doing and gasped, staring at Ryoma

"That was easier then I thought" Ryoma pulled his cap down and smirked

"Who do you think you are? Arai grabbed Ryoma by his shirt collar

"Disrupting the practice" a voice I knew so well stated, "10 Laps around the courts."

Standing there was a guy with hair the same as mine. Also with glasses and a fierce look was Captain Tezuka.

"Captain" Everyone bowed

"But-" Arai started

"20 Laps" was the reply

"Tch" Arai let go of Ryoma and they both started to run

I walked up to the scary looking guy and pulled on his sleeves, "Tezuka onii-chan"

"Ari. Didn't you go home first?" Tezuka asked his younger sister

"Grandpa said that he'd be out on some business today and I didn't want to stay home alone" Ari replied

"Alright" He nodded before Oishi walked up to us.

"Tezuka" Oishi motioned for Tezuka to follow him

"I'll be back later" Tezuka told his sister before walking with Oishi, "Behave"

"Hai Onii-chan" Ari waved as Tezuka and Oishi walked away. She sat down and watched Eiji practice when another commotion caught their attention.

Arai was challenging Ryoma to a match. Thing is Ryoma has to use a broken down racket that looked liked it it wouldn't survive another match. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the match. Getting up from her seat, she walked closer to the court too.

"Ari-chan seems interested in the match too nyaaa" A familiar weight appeared on her shoulder

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Well that's all for chapter 1. Tell me what you think and stuff. Thanks everyone :3


	2. The Crush

Scarlet: Um..Im trying to get everyone's personality right. Tell me how Im doing mmkay? :3

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Chapter 2: The Crush

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"Eiji-kun" She smiled at the red-head, "Aren't you suppose to be practicing?"

"Nyaa, everyone seems to be more interested in this match" he replied

"Ah Ari-chan. Playing favorites again?" Fuji asked walking up to her

"Fuji-kun!" She blushed at his question. He was right. She did have a little crush on a specific acrobatic , cat-like, adorable red-head.

"Fuji! Ari-chan is mine!" Eiji huffed gripping her tighter

She laughed and turned back towards the game. Arai was hitting everything to Ryoma who couldn't return it due to the racket's condition

"Ne Fuji-kun, do you think Ryoma-kun will be okay?" Ari asked worriedly

It seems that she didn't need to worry at all. That little freshman showed everyone what he could do when he started to get the hang of the racket and returned all of Arai's serves. It went on until Arai forfeited the match.

"Wow..he really is something" She murmured to herself

It wasn't long before Oishi appeared and started everyone had to run laps and for Ari to go home since he would be late.

Waving good-bye to everyone, Ari grabbed her bag and made her way home.

When Ari got home, she noticed that her grandpa was home and he and left her and Tezuka dinner. Deciding she wasn't hungry, she took a bath before going to sleep.

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Ari was excited to see the matches that day since it would determine who the regulars were.

When she had gotten down to the courts, she saw that there were 3 people in front of the match up board.

"Ah! It's Ari-senpai" Katou pointed to her

"Hello you three" She replied

"Why are you here everyday Ari-senpai?" Horio asked, "And you seem to be very close to the regulars"

"Oh! I know the regulars because Onii-chan is on the team" Ari replied

"Who?" All three of them asked

"Oh! I didn't tell you my full name huh" Ari murmured, "I'll introduce myself again. My name is Tezuka, Ari"

...SILENCE...

"Whaaaaat?" You're related to Captain Tezuka?" Horio asked

"Hai" Ari smiled before gasping, "I gotta go now before I miss his match"

The three freshmen were still shocked as they watched Ari run towards a specific court. She headed towards the last court only to see Tezuka walking towards her

"Waaaah? Onii-chan's match is already over?" She asked

He nodded before walking to the score table followed by a disappointed Ari

"Oishi. 6-0" Tezuka started before walking to somewhere else

"Oishi-kun!" I turned towards to vice president making down the score, "How's Ryoma-kun doing?"

"Really good actually" Oishi answered, "He's managed to win all his matches. Even the one against Kaidoh and playing Inui at the moment."

'Hmm..I wonder if he can win against Inui-kun's Data Tennis' She thought to herself before turning to Oishi, "Ja, I'm going to see his match!"

As luck would have it, the match was already over with when she got there.

"Mou..I have so much bad luck today" She muttered to herself before running up to Ryoma and hugging him again, "Ryoma-kun

"Ari..senpai" It took him a moment to regain his footing

"Waaah! How dare you hug my Ryoma-sama like that?!" A girl with pig tails on the side of her head screamed at Ari

"Tomo-chan.." another girl with long braids tried to calm her friend down

"Nee..your girlfriend, Ryoma-kun?" Ari asked poking Ryoma's cheek

"Iie.." Ryoma stated

"Ari-chan!" We turned and saw a familiar red head running towards them with Fuji behind him

"Mou Fuji! O'chibi is stealing Ari-chan away from me!" Eiji complained

"Eiji-kun" She let go of Ryoma and tried to calm him down only to be pulled towards someone else

"That means I can take Ari-chan too ne?" Fuji smiled innocently

Fuji might be innocent when he smiles..but under that smile is an evil saddist.

"Fuji!" Eiji shouted and pulled her by the other arm. Fuji and Eiji were now tugging her from both sides while the bystanders watched with sweatdrops.

Suddenly someone else grabbed Ari from the back and sat her on their shoulder, "Yo. I got Ari-chan all for myself. Lucky!"

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Thats all for today :3 Can you guess who that mysterious person is? ;33


	3. Catastrophe

Scarlet: Ahh..chapter 3 chapter 3. Hurry!! Please review okay? Tell me what you think of the story. :33 Please and thank you -^^-

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Chapter 3: Catastrophe

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"Momo!" Eiji growled trying to pull Ari down from Momoshiro's shoulder. You have to admit though, he's pretty strong to be able to hold her up there

After some chaotic scenes and demands to be let down. Momo finally put Ari on the ground which Eiji glomped immediately

"Ne ne Ari-chan!" Eiji kept hugging her, "You like me best right?"

"Eiji-kun" Try as she might, she could not untangle Eiji's arms from around her

By the end of the day, all the regulars have been chosen.

Tezuka Kunimitsu (Captain)

Syuichiroh Oishi (Vice Captain)

Fuji Syuusuke (3rd year)

Kikumaru Eiji (3rd year)

Kawamura Takashi (3rd year)

Kaidoh Kaoru (2nd year)

Momoshiro Takeshi (2nd year)

Echizen Ryoma (1st year)

Everyone then decided to leave. Ari decided to walk home with everyone else since Tezuka always stays late to talk with Ryuzaki-sensei and Oishi

Ari was walking home with Takashi, Fuji, and Eiji since Momoshiro and Ryoma live opposite of them. Kaidoh had already left and Inui was nowhere to be found

"Ne Ari-chan" Fuji pulled her towards him and whispered something in her ears causing her to giggle when caught Eiji's attention

"Fuji!" Eiji-kun pulled her away from Fuji, "What are you two talking about? I wanna know nyaa"

"Eh? Nothing Eiji-kun" Ari replied, smiling at the pouting red-head. In truth, Fuji hadn't told her anything. He only blew into her ear to see what Eiji's reaction was.

"Ne..Ari-chan wont tell me" Eiji whined kneeling with his back towards them.

"Eiji-kun, Fuji-kun didn't say anything" Ari tried calming the red-head while glaring at the innocent smiling sadist.

"He..hey everyone" Takashi tried to calm everyone down, "Why don't you all come for sushi?"

"Wa? Really?" Ari immediately forgot about the fight, grabbed Takashi and ran towards the sushi shop his family runs. She didn't even hear the two voices calling to her.

"Ari-chan!"

"Ari-chan wait for us!"

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"Konnichiwa!" Ari greeted as she slid open the door of the shop

"Ah, Ari-chan. Welcome" Takeshi's dad greeted her

"Hey dad, I'm back" Takashi announced

"Oi Takashi, are you two on a date?" Kawamura grinned at them and Ari noticed that she was still holding Takashi's hand

"Oh!" She let go of his hand, "We-"

Just as she was about to answer, the door to the shop banged open again. Leaning on the doorway trying to catch their breathe was Fuji and Eiji

"Ari-chan..is not dating Taka-san" Fuji stated with another one of his innocent smiles, "She's dating me"

"Oi Fuji!" Eiji shouted, "Stop lieing!"

"Oi..you two.." Ari sweatdropped as she sat down on a seat near the counter, "Ne Kawamura-san, can I have the usual?"

"Hai Ari-chan" Kawamura immediately began making her favorite sushi. California rolls.

For Kawamura to know what she usually orders, you'd think that she came there a lot..and believe me she does. Especially since sushi is her most loved food.

"Here you go" Kawamura placed a plate of california rolls infront of her, "You're favorite"

"Thank you" She replied before eating one. Soon, thank god, everyone settled down and began ordering their own food.

"Ne ne Ari-chan" Eiji, who was sitting to her left caught her attention

"Hm?" She asked turning towards him with a piece of sushi halfway in her mouth.

"Kawaii!!" Eiji was about to hug her when she quickly put her hand up and stopped him, "Gomen Ari-chan"

"What did you need Eiji-kun?" Ari asked after choking down her sushi

"I wanted to ask if I could try one of that" Eiji asked with one finger towards his lip and one pointed at my sushi plate.

"Mmhmm" Ari picked up a piece and waited for him to take it. Instead though, he lifted her hand up towards his lip and ate it from her hand.

'Did..did he just eat out of my hand?' Ari could stop herself from blushing

"Nyaa..that was so yummy Ari-chan" Eiji smiled before noticing her face, "Eh..why are you so red nyaa? Are you sick Ari-chan?"

Fuji couldn't stop himself from laughing. Kawamura couldn't stop himself from sweatdropping at the clueless neko. And so Eiji wondered why everyone was looking at him funny and why Ari-chan was so red at the time. Eiji was just being..Eiji!

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"Thank you for the meal" Ari, Fuji, and Eiji bowed as they left the sushi shop

"Ne Ari-chan" Fuji called to her, "My house is this way so I'll be going now. Sayonara"

"Sayonara Fuji-kun" Ari waved bye as Fuji walked away

"Ne ne Ari-chan" Eiji looked at the girl a head shorter then he was, "Let's go before it gets too dark"

"Hai" Ari smiled as they began walking home

"Ne Eiji-kun?" Ari stuttered as they continue the walk home in silence.

"Hm?" Eiji tilted his head and looked at Ari who continued to keep his head down

"Um..do..do you like me?" Ari kept her head down blushing

"Of course I do nyaa" Eiji smiled happily.

Unknown to them, a couple of people were right behind them just around the corner.

"Woooooh! Eiji-senpai has a crush!" Momo shouted with a smirk on his face, "Good Job!"

"Momo-senpai, you're really loud" said our favorite cat-eyed boy

"This will be valuable data for me" Inui gleamed evilly, "There is a 100% chance he will say yes"

"But..but..it's wrong to spy" Takashi was having second thoughts

"Hm..good thing I didn't actually go home" Fuji smiled innocently

"Shhh.." Kaidoh just looked annoyed

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"Really?" Ari looked up shyly

"Yep!" Eiji still had that smile on his face, "And I like O'chibi, and Taka, and Momo, and Kaidoh, and Fuji, and Captain Tezuka, and Inui, but I don't like his juice. Blah"

"Oh.." Ari sweatdropped

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The spies behind the wall also sweatdropped/fell down because of what they just heard.

"That's just like Eiji isn't it?" Fuji smiled

"Tch" Ryoma looked bored

"It can't..it can't be true.." Inui gasped, "My data was wrong

"Only half wrong" Taka tried to calm down Inui\

"Waaaaaah Eiji-senpai just ruined it!!" Momo shouted

"Shhhhhhh..."

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"Ari" A voice snapped Ari out of her daze. Looking up she saw her brother at the door looking at her. She didn't even know she was infront of her house already "Are you going to come in?"

"Hai Onii-chan" Ari mumbled walking towards her to brother, "Ja ne Eiji-kun"

"Ja ne Ari-chan. Bye Captain Tezuka!" Eiji waved happily as he walked home. Oblivious to all that had happened in that one day.

"Did you eat dinner yet?" Tezuka asked his sister as she took off her shoe

"Hai Onii-chan, at Taka-kun's shop" Ari replied.

"Too much sushi is bad for your health" Tezuka replied walking into his own room

"I know I know" Ari pouted as she walked towards her room. Taking a shower and finishing some homework. She fell into a deep sleep dreaming of a certain neko boy.


	4. Introduction of the Green Liquid

Scarlet: -^^- Enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 4: Introduction of the Green Liquid

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"Hey you!" Ari turned around to see the same pig-tailed girl and her friend from the other day glaring at her.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Ari asked setting down the broom she was holding.

"Yes!" The louder girl glared, "I am the president of the Ryoma-sama fan club. Who are you to him? He's my Ryoma-sama so why are you always over him!"

"T-Tomo-chan" The pig-tailed girl tried to calm her friend down before looking towards Ari, "Sumimasen Ari-senpai"

"Grr..you have to get permission from the Ryoma-sama fanclub before you can approach Ryoma-sama" The girl named Tomo growled

"Uh.."Ari didn't exactly know how to answer Tomo when help came.

"Ari-chan!" Eiji smiled that cat-like smile of his before hugging Ari from behind again, "Nyaa Ari-chan are you done yet nyaa?"

"Well, I would be done if someone hadn't left me to clean up by myself" Ari glared at the red head on her shoulder

"Mou..Ari-chan!" Eiji pouted, "That's why we came back. Fuji and I felt really bad leaving you here by yourself"

"Fuji-kun?" Ari asked as Fuji appeared at the door with another broom and a smile

"Hi Ari-chan" Fuji greeted, "Let's get the classroom cleaned up before we're late for practice

"Ah! Practice! I forgot" The pigtailed girl grabbed her friend left with a "Sayonara Fuji-senpai, Eiji-senpai"

"They're weird" Ari sweatdropped

"Sakura-chan and Tomo-chan are harmless first years" Fuji smiled innocently

"Eiji-kun, get off me and grab a broom" Ari tried to detach the neko from her shoulder

"Nee..I dont wanna" Eiji whinned

"If you don't we'll be late and Tezuka will probably make us run laps" Fuji stated

"Yea..that does sound like Onii-chan" Ari smiled

"Eeeeh?!" Eiji quickly grabbed a broom and started sweeping like a tornado on the loose in the classroom.

"We sure got the classroom cleaned up pretty quick" Ari said as the three of them neared the tennis courts

"All thanks to a human tornado" Fuji laughed softly

"I don't want to run laps" Eiji stated as Fuji and Ari laughed at him

As we got closer we heard

"SEIGAKU!"

"Fight, Fight, Fight"

"Ahh! We're gonna be late!" Eiji exclaimed as he and Fuji ran towards the courts

"Those two never change" Ari smiled to herself as she took her time walking over to the courts and sitting down on one of the blue benches

"Ah! Konnichiwa Ari-senpai" Horio and his group of friends bowed before me

"Hey hey. Its okay" I sweatdropped, "You don't need to bow for me

"You girls sightseeing again?" Horio asked the group of people behind me

"It's called cheering. CHEERING!" The girl, Tomo, from before shouted at him

"Alright! Everyone gather up!" I heard Onii-chan shout as everyone started to line up

"I shouldn't have to say this but.." Ryuzaki-sensei started, "Regionals are right around the corner. The 8 regulars will have to train hard for the tournament. The tennis levels of the other school had risen so don't take them lightly. That's all"

"Second and third year members in court C" Onii-chan took over, "Court A and B will be for regulars"

"Wait a minute" Ryuzaki-sensei stopped the regulars that were about to head over to the courts, "For the regulars, I have asked this man to create a special training menu for you guys"

Inui walked up to the group slowly with a box in his hand. Everyone was given a 250g training weight for their ankles

'So Inui is their new manager..kinda' Ari thought to herself, 'That's kinda interesting'

Inui also had red, blue, and yellow cones set up on the opposite side of where the receiver would be standing.

Basically, he was explaining that each person would have to name the color of the strips on the ball and return it to the correct colored cone.

'Leave it to Inui-kun to think of the more exciting practice on his first day' Ari smiled as she watched the practice take place.

First up was Eiji who had no trouble of returning Inui's serves..until..

"Red!!" Eiji stated as soon as Inui served

"Isn't that blue?" Inui asked with a smirk on his face

"Huh, liar!" Eiji got confused and missed the ball which rolled a few feet away from him, "What is this?! It was red after all! Inui..thats not fair! Cheater!"

"If you lose your stamina, your judgment will also be impaired" Inui stated walking up to the net, "Kikumaru switch places. By the way. I forgot to tell you. Those who makes errors will drink Inui's special vegetable juice"

Inui held up a clear glass with some kind of green liquid in it

'That..that can't be edible can it..' Ari shuttered

"What's in that?" Eiji asked sweatdropping

"Food, don't worry about it" Inui stated, "The taste has been throughly adjusted!"

Eiji took the cup and drank it with one gulp. It wasn't long before he ran for his life towards to exit of the tennis courts

'That..what is in that drink' Ari couldn't help but remember the horror on Eiji's face as he drank the terrifying Inui's special vegetable juice

Ryoma also had to drink it when he kept watching Eiji and missed the ball heading towards him. He too had to drink the green liquid and also ran for his life out of the tennis courts

Oishi and Taka were up next. The look on their faces stated that they did not want to make a mistake..for their life's stake.

Oishi, like the other two, also ran for his life after drinking Inui's green potion.

Then came Taka, Momo, Kaido. Kaido walked away like it was nothing but it soon got the better of him.

It was then Fuji's turn. Fuji made a mistake on purpose

"Fuji! You did that on purpose!" Eiji accused

"Yea, I wanted to drink it at least once" Fuji smiled happily as he took the cup form Inui and drank it in one gulp, "Ahhh! This is quite good, I recommend it"

Inui sweatropped

'Fuji-kun..actually likes it..?' Ari couldn't believe it either

"Stop lying!" Eiji fell on his back again

After everyone had a chance to practice, Inui began listing off all of the mistakes everyone had to work on. Regarding Ryoma, he also had to drink two bottles of milk a day.

After practice, when everyone had a chance to recover from the terrible liquid, they all decided to head home. Tezuka stayed behind with Oishi. Kaido went on his own. Fuji was picked up by his sister. Ari, Eiji, Momo, and Ryoma headed home together.

"Hey Ari-senpai when are you going to play tennis again?" Momo's unwarned question almost made Ari stop in her tracks

"I don't know really, I mean my wrist is better" Ari looked at her right wrist as they continued walking, "I just don't know why but I don't feel like picking up a racket anytime soon"

"Ehhh, but you had so much fun nyaa" Eiji looked shocked

"Senpai, why don't you play tennis anyway?" Ryoma asked an innocent question

"Shh" Momo shushed him and whispered something in his ear before turning towards Ari and Eiji, "Well this is where we go separate ways. Taking Ryoma, Momo left Eiji and Ari staring after them with a sweatdrop

"Eiji-kun, we should get going before it gets too dark" Ari suggested as they started walking again

"Nee Ari-chan. Are you really not going to play tennis anymore nyaa?" Eiji mumbled quietly with his head down, unlike his usual smile

"I don't know Eiji-kun" Ari answered honestly

"Ari-chan" Eiji took her right wrist in both his hand, "You're will play again so will you promise to play against me first when you do?"

"Um.." Ari's cheek began to turn pink as Eiji stared at her, "Um..I'm sorry I gotta go!"

She took her hand back and made a mad dash towards her house, leaving a confused and bewildered Eiji behind her

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Scarlet: Um..well that's all for now. If you want more. Please tell me what you think and what I should add/remove from the story.


	5. Something Special

Scarlet: Hello everyone. Sorry for not updating for so long. To make it up to you. I made this chapter as long as I could

Chapter 5: Something Special

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"Ahh.." Ari sighed as she began to walk towards the place where the tennis preliminaries were to be held. Her brother had, like the other few hundred times, went ahead without her, "How am I gonna face Eiji-kun? I just ran off yesterday"

Ari was so into her thoughts that she didn't hear someone call out her name until she felt a familier weight on her shoulder

"Ne ne Ari-chan" Eiji was still leaning down on her, "How come you didn't answer when I called?"

"Oh! Sorry Eiji-kun. I didn't hear you" Looking back, she saw the rest of the team walking towards them

"Yo! Ari-chan" Momo shouted, "Gonna cheer for us today?"

"Of course" Ari smiled back at him as they all walked up to the sign in table

"Here are the registration applications for the 8 regular members of Seigaku High School" Tezuka announced as he handed over the clip board

All around them, people began making a fuss

"It's Seigaku!"

"Eee!! Tezuka-san look over here!"

'Wow..people never change' Ari sweetdropped

After that, they all headed towards the court and towards the very first match of the preliminaries.

"Ne Ari-chan" Fuji came up to her, "How are you today?"

"I'm great Fuji-kun" Ari replied, "And you?"

"I bet Fuji is excited about the match!" Eiji answered popping out of nowhere

"Mmhmm..I can't wait to watch the matches" Ari smiled

When they finally got to the courts, they saw that their opponents haven't arrived yet, so placed all their bags on the benches and got ready

'I feel bad that I get to sit inside with the team even though I'm not in it' Ari though to herself

Eiji and Oishi seemed to know what each other wanted when Oishi gave Eiji his towel and Eiji gave Oishi his bottle.

"Hey Echizen, can you give me that?" Momo asked looking through his bag

"What's "that"?" Ryoma asked

"That!" The towel under your ass!" Momo pointed

'They..have no harmony at all' Ari sweatdropped

"First singles match, Fuji of Seigaku and Suzuki of Gyokurin" the referee annouced, "Best out of 5 matches. Even if one team wins 3 matches, all 5 matches will be played

"So, what is going to happen?" Ryuzaki asked smiling, "Don't think too hard Tezuka, it's better to relax

"I understand" Tezuka replied

"Ne Ryuzaki sensei, its it really alright to put Momo-kun and Ryoma-kun in a doubles team?" Ari wondered

"They volunteered themselves, who knows, they may surprise us" Ryuzaki replied

"First match, in doubles. Seigaku's Momoshiro and Echizen pair. Gyokulin's Izumi and Fukawa pair.

Ryoma was the first to receive and he did it without any problems. The other team however returned the ball straight down the middle where he thought they wouldn't be able to return it.

"AH!"

"UN!"

Surprising everyone as Momo and Ryoma returned the ball with little problem

"Is that..their secret technique..?" Ari asked as everyone was too sweatdropping

Somehow, they had managed to win their match but they were still reprimanded by Ryuzaki

Next was Oishi and Eiji, Seigaku's golden pair. They easily won their match 6-0

Kaido also won his 6-0

Taka- 6-0

Fuji..what do you think?

"Ah..that was a great match" Ari stated, "I can't wait for the match after lunch. Seigaku's playing against..Mizukohuchi I think"

"Thats correct Ari-chan" Oishi smiled

"Until then, you may all rest for the next match" Tezuka stated

Everyone began walking their separate ways to get ready for the next matches by themselves.

"Ari-senpai!" Ari heard a voice call her from behind. Turning around, she found the freshman on the boys team behind her.

"Hm? What is it?" Ari asked looking at them

"Hey Ari-senpai, how come you get to sit inside with the other regulars when you're not even on the team?" Horio asked

"Well, I used to be the manager of the team. I played with the team too..but now.." Ari looked troubled

There was a moment of awkward silence where no one knew what to say. It would have lasted longer if someone had not intervened.

"Ari-chan!" Momo walked up to the group, "Aren't you going to buy me a drink for winning my match?"

"Ah..Momo-kun" Ari signed in relief, "When did I say I would buy you a drink?"

"Eeeh. You could treat me out to a drink Ari-chan" Momo smiled

"Fine fine" Ari gave in as she turned towards the other 3, "Sorry, maybe we'll talk again next time"

Walking along side Momo, they headed towards the vending machines

"Thanks Momo-kun" Ari muttered, "I kinda froze there"

"Hehe.. I noticed, we'll can't blame you for not wanting to talk with strangers about your past" Momo had this goofy look on his face

"Well, I'll buy you a drink to thank you" Ari smiled

"Nya! That's not fair. How come only Momo gets a drink?" The familier redhead appeared in between them.

"Eiji-senpai!" Momo shouted as he was shoved away," Ari-chan was buying me a drink!"

"Nya, Ari-chan is mine" Eiji stuck his tongue out at Momo as he pulled her closer to him

"Stop it you two!" Ari sweatddropped, "I'll buy you both something okay?"

When she finally got Momo and Eiji settled with their drink of choice, it was time to meet up with the rest of the team

"What? Kakinoki junior high school lost?" Momo exclaimed as Horio told the the whole team about the news, "Thats not right. They were the runner-up last time"

"It's true Momo-chan senpai" Horio stated, "It's written on the board"

"So. Who are we meeting in the final?" Oishi asked

"Fudomine junior high" Mizuno answered

"They were unseeded" Kachiro added

"Fudomine junoir high?" Kawa asked, "The same Fudomine that had to withdraw last year?"

"Huh?" The freshmen were surprised

"I went to scout out Fudomine's match" said Inui as he just rejoined the group, "They are a completely different Fudomine from last year. All the members are new regulars, except the second year captain. The key factor of their success is the masterful leadership of their captain Tachibana Keppei. Also, the six unknown 2nd year members beat Kakinoki in straight sets.

"The final..doesn't seem to be easy" Fuji stated

"But if it's Seigaku there should be no problem against a beginner!" Horio reasoned, "We'll crush them and win the tournament

"Hey Horio-kun" Mizuno placed his hand on Horio's shoulder try to stop him from talking

"It's okay, leet me talk" Horio crossed his arms, "Seigaku can't lost to unseeded, unknown players!"

"Hey!" Mizuno tried shaking Horio's shoulder again

"What is it?" You are annoying" Horio shook his friend off until he noticed who was standing near them, "Fudomine?"

Fudomine High School was standing right next to the team and it was only Horio that didn't notice

There were some..staring until the other team left

'They are..very different this year' Ari though

"Understand this, we'll face Fudomine in the finals," Ryuzaki announced "And they're nothing like the opponents we've been facing. It's final..Doubles 2: Fuji and Kawamura. Doubles 1: Oishi and Kikumaru. Singles 3: Kaidoh. Singles 2: Ryoma. Singles 1: Tezuka.

Ari and the rest of the Seigaku regulars sat down on the benches while Kawa and Fuji went up first.

Making this short. Fuji and Kawa forfeited their game since Kawa's arm got sprained from returning the other teams powerful move called Hadoukyuu

Next up was the golden pair. Eiji and Oishi vs Uchimura and Mori

Eiji took off his jacket and with a fierce look in his eyes, bagan to flip his racket around his arm before going to the courts

'Eiji-kun is serious. Good luck Eiji-kun' Ari smiled

"Awesome! What was that!" Horio exclaimed

"Eiji-kun's favorite type of tennis. Acrobatic. Just like a cat" Ari explained

Making it short, Eiji and Oishi won.

"That was great Eiji-kun, Oishi-kun" Ari congratulated them as they sat back down on the bench

"Thank you" they replied with a smile

Next was Kaidoh and Kamio

Kaidoh won the match and also learn a new move called Boomerang Snake

Then is Ryoma versus Shinji

A few minutes into the game, Ryoma had injured his eye and caused it to bleed tremendously.

'Oh god' Ari was covering her mouth in shock

Sakano had quickly rushed into the courts trying to help Ryoma but her help was rejected.

"You there, everyone has to leave the court except players" The referee stated pointing at Sakano

Ryuzaki had to go and stop her foolish granddaughter from making such a big scene

Reaching for the first aid kit, Ari handed it to Oishi who tried to stop Ryoma's bleeding

"Is the bleeding stopping?" Ari asked worriedly

"It's no good, the bleeding won't stop" Oishi stated

Kawa had fainted after looking at all the blood

"How is it looking?" Tezuka asked

"It's no good, it's impossible to continue" Oishi replied, "It will be disappointing to forfeit after coming this far"

"Echizen, I'm going to put the broken pieces in your bag" Momo said as he picked up Ryoma's racket

"Momo-senpai" the next thing Ryoma said surprised everyone, "Take out the spare while you're at it"

'He really wants to finish the match' this didn't really surprise Ari much.

Ryuzaki managed to stop Ryoma's bleeding for a while. Tezuka had also given Ryoma 10 minutes to win the match or he will force him to forfeit, and you know what? Ryoma won.

Seigaku had won the preliminaries

While Ryuzaki and Sakano took Ryoma to the hospital while the rest of the team went to Kawa's family sushi restaurant.

"Nya Ari-chan! Lemme try some of those!" Eiji begged with his pleading eyes

"But Eiji-kun, you already tried tried this before" Ari stated

"But I haven't Ari-chan!" Momo joined themselves

"Waah! No, go away Momo. Ari-chan and I are eating!" Eiji tried to shove Momo away

Ari sighed as the two made a huge commotion again, "Good thing we're the only ones here"

"Ari-chan, would you like some tea?" Fuji offered her a cup

"Thank you Fuji-kun" Ari gladly took the cup

Suddenly, the door to the shop slid open and everyone saw Ryoma. Ryoma closed the doors again and tried to leave only to be pulled in by Momo

Eiji's favorite sushi, Anago, was taken by Kaidoh. When Eiji looked around again, he saw that everything was empty except for the plate infront of Fuji

"Ah! Eating rolls by yourself. That's so selfish Fuji" Eiji exclaimed as he took one of Fuji's rolls and ate it

"Eiji-kun..thats.." Ari started to say

"EEEEEEHHH!!" Eiji screamed loud enough to draw everyone's attention, "What are you eating?"

"Wasabi Sushi" Fuji replied with a grin

No one even noticed that Ryuzaki, Tezuka and Oishi left

"Wah, this Chirashizushi is awesome!" Momo smiled happily, "Looks so delicious, Ittadakimasu"

Just as Momo was about to eat the plate, Eiji tried to shove him away

"You've eaten enough Momo! It's my turn now!" Eiji shouted as he and Momo fought over a box of sushi.

"Ne, Ari-chan. Want to have our picture taken?" Fuji asked her as Kachiro held up the camera

"I'd love to" Ari sat by Fuji as Kachiro readied the camera

"One, Two.." Just as Kachiro couted to three, Momo had pushed Eiji close to where Ari was sitting

**'SNAP' **went the camera.

The whole room was quiet as everyone stared at the position they were in. Eiji was laying on top of Ari. Their mouths were connected. Worst of all, they had a photo to remember it by.

"Ahh! Eiji what are you doing!" Momo shouted, snapping everyone out of their dazed state

"I'm sorry Ari-chan!" Eiji quickly got off of Ari and extended a hand to help her up

"I..I..I have to go now!" Ari quickly got up, grabbed her things and rushed out of the door ignoring everyone calling her name

"Ari-chan! Ari-chan come back!"

'Oh my god. Oh my god. I kissed Eiji-kun. Eiji-kun kissed me. We kissed. Everyone saw. Oh my god. What am I going to do' Was the only thing running through her mind as she raced back to the safety of her home.

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**Scarlet: **Well, how do you like that ending? I hadn't really expected it to end like that but I'm glad that it did. Please read and review and tell me what you think about it.


	6. Unexpected Day

Scarlet: Hai everyone. Due to a comment from GwangFei, I decided to put some more interaction between Ari and her brother. I hope you like this chapter :3

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**Chapter 6: Unexpected Day**

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"Imouto" Tezuka called out as he knocked on his door. He had been a bit worried since he last saw her last night. Her face was flushed red and on the verge of crying. Without saying anything to anyone, she ran towards her room and slammed the door.

"What is it Onii-chan?" Ari mumbled from underneath her covers

"Just checking on you" Tezuka stated, "I will be leaving for tennis practice soon

"Ne..Onii-chan, I won't be going to school today" Ari replied softly

Tezuka opened her door and walked into his sister's room. "Imouto?"

Gently pulling the covers away, he saw that his sister's face was flushed red and her breathing came out in light gasps.

Feeling her forehead, he noticed that she was burning up

"Imouto, you've got a high fever" Tezuka stated as he took her temperature, "I'll tell Fuji or Eiji to get your assignments"

"Not..Eiji-kun" Ari managed to gasped out

Tezuka didn't want to work up her fever so he didn't bother to ask

"I will tell grandfather that you will not be going to school today. He will probably have some medicine for you when you wake up" Tezuka said as he placed a cold pack on her forehead

"I can take care of myself Onii-chan" Ari pouted, " Have a good day at school"

"I will, Imouto" Tezuka patted is sister's head gently and gave her a rare smile, "Get better"

After informing his grandfather about Ari's condition, he grabbed his bags and left for school

**------Fuji and Eiji's Class-----**

"Ne Fuji, what should I say to Ari-chan nya.." Eiji was more depressed then anyone thought he'd be, "She must be really mad at me"

"Don't worry Eiji" Fuji gave one of his famous innocent smiles, "If she it doesn't work out between you too, I can always ask her out"

"Ahh Fuji!" Eiji looked like he was about to rip his hair out in frustration even if he knew his friend was kidding

A few seconds later, the bell rang and Ari still hadn't shown up

"Eh..where's Ari-chan nya.." Eiji looked around confused

"Oh yea! Tezuka said Ari-chan is sick and asked me to bring her homework" Fuji stated

"Ahh! Fuji, you did that on purpose!" Eiji accused, "I was getting all worked up and-wait..Ari-chan is sick?"

"Yes, Tezuka told me she probably caught a cold from yesterday's rain" Fuji answered

"I see.." Eiji began to get lost in his thoughts he didn't hear sensei calling his name until..

"KIKUMARU!" sensei was right in front on his desk

"Y-yes!" Eiji snapped out of his thoughts

"Kikumaru, please read page 196" Sensei instructed

"Yes sensei" Eiji mumbled and began to read. It seems that he couldn't focus at all today. His mind was on one thing..one girl to be exact.

**-----Tennis Practice-----**

"Fuji, I-" Eiji paused, didn't know what to say exactly as Fuji drank some water beside him

"Eiji, don't confess your love to me here, there are people watching" Fuji smiled

"W-what? What do you mean confess my love?!" Eiji exclaimed

In a flash, Fuji splashed some water at a nearby bush, causing a guy with a camera to appear

"Hey! Stop, you're going to break my camera!" The guy said angrily

"Well, well. Gotcha" Fuji smiled

"The guy turned chicken and ran away screaming

"It seems like we're being stalked more then usual" Eiji stated

"Yea, ever since the preliminaries" Fuji replied before remembering something, "Ah, I forgot to give Ari-chan's homework to Tezuka. He's probably in a meeting with Ryuzaki-sensei and Oishi right now. I'll just bring it to her then"

"Oi! Wait Fuji" Eiji called out

"Hm? What is it? Fuji wondered

"Uh..can I go with you?" Eiji asked

"I don't see why not" Fuji smiled

"After they had gotten dressed, Fuji and an over nervous Eiji were making their way to the Tezuka household

-----Tezuka Household-----

(A/N:Uh..I'm not sure who Tezuka is living with besides his grandfather. So, if I get it wrong please tell me)

"Ari, I placed your medicine on your table. Take it after your meal" Ari's grandfather and the head of the house hold instructed

"Hai, grandfather. Arigato" Ari replied as he closed the door and left her alone to her sleep again

Ari fell asleep only to be waken up again in what she thought were mere minutes by a knock on the door.

"Grandfather, the door is open" Ari mumbled without even looking at the door

"Gomen ne Ari-chan" a different voice replied, "I think I'm too young to be your grandfather

"Eh?" Ari sat up immediately as her fever allowed her to and wrapped her blankets around her, "Fuji-kun and..Eiji-kun"

'Ari couldn't meet Eiji's eyes at all and Eiji noticed that

"We came to bring you your homework" Fuji smiled as he placed a stack of paper on her desk

"Arigato Fuji-kun" Ari laughed softly, "Like I need homework right now"

Everyone could tell that Ari's laugh wasn't genuine

"Ne Ari-chan.." Eiji started

Fuji took that as his cue to excuse himself and closed the door behind himself

There was an awkward silence in the room between Ari and Eiji

"What is it?" Ari asked looking down

"About yesterday.."Eiji started, "I wanted to apologize"

"Apologize?" Ari repeated

"H-hai" Eiji sighed. Somehow, deep within himself, he knew he'd regret what he was about to say. Although he didn't know why, "It was an accident. Momo and I were fighting and I bumped into you. I like you Ari-chan cause you're my friend. I hope we can always be friends"

'Friends..that's all I'll ever be to him' Ari was on the verge of tears but refused to let Eiji see. Instead, she smiled and said, "Eiji-kun, you and I will always be friends"

"Really?" Eiji's face lit up but somehow his heart felt like it was missing a part of him

"Yes, really" Ari replied, "Um..do you mind letting me sleep, Eiji-kun? I'm really tired"

"Oh okay" Eiji murmured. He had hoped they would be able to talk more. Slowly walking towards the door, he took one last look at her before he left to find Fuji

**-----Walking Home-----**

"So, how'd it go?" Fuji asked as he and Eiji left the Tezuka household.

"Nya, it went well" Eiji replied with a half smile, "Ari-chan and I are friends again"

"I see" Fuji didn't ask anymore as they both began to walk home

That whole night, Ari cried

**-----The Next Day: After School-----**

"Ne ne Ari-chan? Eiji asked as he, Fuji, and Ari were walking out of the school building, "You're going to come and watch us practice right?"

"Ah..gomen ne Eiji-kun" Ari apologized, "I have to meet someone today"

Before Eiji could ask who it was. Ari's hand shot into the air and waved franticly towards the school gate, "There he is!"

Ari then happily ran towards the person who smiled as he held her in his arms. What happened next nearly killed Eiji. Smiling, Ari tilted her head up and kiss the boy on the-

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Scarlet: Well everyone! Thats the end! Whaaaaat?! What do you mean you wanna read on? D: Don't I get a break?

Readers: NO!

Scarlet: Fine fine. I'll write more! Where was I..oh yea!

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Smiling, Ari tilted her head up and kiss the boy on the cheek.

He didn't know why but it hurt him to see her so happy towards another guy. Eiji saw Ari leading the guy towards them and decided to put a smile on

"Mou Ari-chan.." Eiji tried to sound like his normal self, "Aren't you going to introduce your friend to us?"

"Ah, Eiji-kun. I was just about to" Ari smiled turning towards the guy, "Raymaru this is Fuji Syuusuke and Kikumaru Eiji, my two good friends

"It's nice to meet you" Raymaru shook both their hand, "The name's Nakane Raymaru"

"The pleasure is mine" Fuji's expression was indifferent

"Nya, nice to meet you too" Eiji forced a smile

"I'm going to be showing Ray-kun around" Ari explained, "Good luck at practice Fuji-kun Eiji-kun. Ja ne"

"Bye Ari-chan" they replied as they watched Ari and Raymaru walk away happily chatting. It wasn't until he could no longer see them did Eiji leave for practice

She said his name last again. Before she would always say his name first. Somehow even though they were friends again, he was noticing the little changes between them, and Eiji didn't like it one bit. Although he was confused as to why.

During practice, Eiji couldn't concentrate at all causing him to hit the net or miss the court completely

"Eiji dropped his racket and was about to run when he stopped next to Tezuka

"Hey Buchou, do you know a guy name Raymaru?" Eiji asked quietly

"Iie" Tezuka answered, his expression unchanged, "20 laps"

Eiji sighed and began to run his laps quietly

**-----After Practice-----**

"Kikumaru-senpai you're not yourself today" Momo stated

"Mada mada dane" Ryoma added

Eiji, Fuji, Ryoma, and Momoshiro were walking home together after practice

"Eh?" Isn't that Ari-chan?" Momo suddenly shouted, pointing towards the other side of the streets

Everyone looked immediately and what they saw surprised them. Ari had her arms around Raymaru and they were happily walking side by side.

"Who's that guy with her?" Momo asked, "And why are they so friendly?"

"Grr.." Eiji growled softly before forcing himself to act normal, "His name is Raymaru. He's Ari-chan's friend. We shouldn't be spying on Ari-chan like this"

"We're not spying Eiji-senpai" Momo insisted, "We're just making sure Ari-chan is safe"

Eiji sighed as he took took another glance at the happy couple. He saw another girl dressed in purple approach Ari and Raymaru. Although the group didn't hear what they were talking about, he saw Raymaru signal for Ari to head inside the cafe first. As soon as she was gone, Raymaru immediately embraced the other girl and kissed her on the lips. It was not an innocent kiss either. A few seconds later, they separated and walked into the cafe, sitting at the same table as Ari.

"Did you see that?!" Momo was angry but not as furious as Eiji

"Eiji-senpai, are you okay?" Ryoma asked

"How dare he do that to Ari-chan!" Eiji growled, "Where're going to watch what he does next!"

"Spying is bad remember, Eiji?" Fuji smiled innocently as he repeated Eiji's earlier words

"Fuji! Did you see what that guy did!" Eiji glared, "We are going to keep watching him and when the there is a chance, we'll tell Ari-chan that Raymaru isn't a good match for her"

Ryoma took this as his cue to leave, "Well, good luck. Bye"

"Eiji quickly pulled Ryoma back, "I don' think o'chibi. You are helping us and we are going to show what kind of guy that two timing Raymaru guy really is!"

**-----With Ari-----**

"Achoo" Raymaru sneezed

"Are you catching a cold Ray-kun?" Ari asked concernedly

"Nah, probably somebody thinking about me" he replied with a smirk

"So are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" Ari smiled ask she turn towards the girl holding Raymaru's hand blushing

"Oh yea, this is Akina Tsukihana" Raymaru introduced, "Aki-chan, this is my cousin, Tezuka Murai Ari"

"Nice you meet you Ari-chan" Akina smiled shying

"I'm surprised that Ray-kun had the courage to ask someone out like this" Ari smiled at her

"Hey hey! No talking bad about me" Raymaru pouted

"Oh! There's this really yummy cake I wanted to try, lemme order it and I'll be right back!" Ari got up from her seat and ran towards one of the waitresses"

**-----Eiji, Fuji, Momo, and Ryoma's Table-----**

"Ari-chan just got up and went somewhere" Momo stated

"Doesn't matter, lets just keep a watch on Raymaru!" Eiji whispered.

The group had managed to get a seat two tables down from their target.

"Hm..I see. This Raymaru is cheating on two girls.." Inui stated jotting down some notes

"I-Inui!" Momo gasped, "Where did you come from

"That is not important, I am here to collect data" Inui replied

"Thats good! With Inui, there is no way we can miss our target!" Eiji declared

**-----Raymaru and Akina-----**

Akina giggled softly, "Is she always like that Ray-kun?"

"Ari-chan's changed. She's nothing like the crybaby I used to look after. I'm proud she's become such a strong girl.

"I don't think I'll be able to be better then her"

"You don't have to be. You're my girlfriend. You don't have to prove yourself to me.

"Arigato Ray-kun" Raymaru lifted his girlfriend's chin up and lightly kissed her lips"

**-----With The Four Err..5 Spies-----**

"Can you hear them?" Momo cried, "They're too quiet!"

"Shhh! Momo!" The group was as quiet as they could and managed to pick out some words of their conversation

"Is she always like that?" They heard the girl ask

"Ari-chan's ---------. She's nothing ------------- -------------. I used ------------ ------------ ---------- strong girls"

"--------------- be ----------- -------- better then her"

"You have ----------- to be --------- ------- my girl------. --------- ---------- -------- prove yourself to me"

"------ Ray-kun"

They then saw Raymaru kissing the girl again. They broke apart just before Ari arrived

"Damn! If Ari was there a little bit earlier, she's see what kind of guy Raymaru really is!" Momo growled

"Uh..I don't think.." Fuji's soft statement was ignored

"Did you hear why he said, Eiji-senpai?" Momo continued, "He said that Ari-chan was nothing!"

"And that he was just using her!" Eiji muttered

"I believe we should listen more before we come to a conclusion" Inui commented

**-----Ari's Table-----**

"Um..please excuse me while I go to the lady's room" Akina said as she got up and left

Raymaru watched as his girlfriend left before turning towards his cousin.

"So, tell me how was your first kiss?" Ari asked wanting to know

"It's been a while since we had our first kiss, I can still remember the mistake of kissing near the fountain. We were soaked to our skin!" Raymaru laughed

"Haha, but it was as least a memorable moment. The first kiss I had was with Eiji-kun. An accident but it wasn't that mad. I was just nervous" Ari took a bite of chocolate cake

"Hey you've got something in your hair. I think it got some frosting stuck to it" Raymaru pointed out

"Can you help me get it Ray-kun? I can't see" Ari asked

Raymaru sighed as he leaned closer to Ari

**-----The 5 Spies-----**

"Can I go now?" Ryoma asked boredly as he finished his 2nd sundae

"Iie! Just order something else. It'll be on Momo" Eiji insisted

"Nani!? Momo shouted, "I never promised that"

"Try this sundae" Fuji pointed at the menu. He had given up trying to persuade the other 3 to listen so instead, he decided to enjoy himself.

"Shhh! That girl just left, I wanna hear what they say" Eiji replied

"------- me ------- ------- --------- kiss?" They heard Ari say

"------ while ----- ------ we ------- kiss ------------. --------- ------ remember ------ mistake ------- ------ ----------- near ------. --------- ----------- -------- our skin!"

"--------- ------------- ---------- moment. --------- --------- ------------ kiss --------- ----------Eiji-kun. ----------- accident ---------- ----------- it was ------- bad"

They then saw Raymaru leaning towards Ari like he was about to kiss her.

"I..Iie!" Eiji jumped out of his seat and was in front of Ari's table in seconds, "Wait, Ari-chan!"

Ari and Raymaru looked at Eiji confused

"Eiji-kun?" Ari asked confused, "Why are you here?"

"Iie Ari-chan, I don't want to let you kiss this two timer!" Eiji clench his fist

"A..ano..what's going on?" Akina had just returned

"See Ari-chan! He was cheating on you with this girl!" Eiji pointed at Akina

"I was never going out with Ray-kun. And that girl is Akina, Ray-kun's girlfriend. Ray-kun and I are cousins"

"C..cousins?" Eiji was embarassed. Very, very embarrassed.

"I think we should talk it out somewhere else" Raymaru nodded towards the other customers looking at them.

"Ye..yea" Eiji hug his head down.

**-----A Park Nearby-----**

Ari had gathered the rest of the spies and was trying to explain everything.

Raymaru just laughed at the idea that they thought he was going out with Ari.

After everything was sorted out. Everyone began to leave except for Eiji and Ari. Everyone decided that they needed to talk some things out

Eiji was still looking at the ground and Ari was looking at everywhere but Eiji

Ari sighed softly and walked away

"A..Ari-chan" Eiji's head gaze left the ground at her movement.

He watched her sit herself on the swing behind him before looking at him

"Yes?"

"I..I wanted to apologize" Eiji started, "I had no right to spy on you today. I was just scared that you'd get hurt and..I didn't want that.

"Was that all Eiji-kun?" Ari asked as she looked at the boy who had stolen her heart.

"I..Iie..I also didn't like how friendly you were with him before we found out he was your cousin..I didn't like how you were holding his arms and smiling at him. I wanted you to smile at me like that. And hold my arm like that" Eiji didn't know what he was saying, it was all so confusing. It came out all at once.

"Eiji-kun-" Ari was cut off

"Ari-chan, let me finish. I think what I'm trying to say is that..I guess I might be too late but..I don't really know how to say this.." Eiji took a deep breathe, "Ari-chan, I really like you!"

'Silence'

It seems that everything that Ari wanted had just came true although she couldn't find the words to say.

'Say something! Anything!'

Eiji took her silence as a bad thing and smiled sadly, "I guess I'm the idiot that wanted us to be just friends..I'm sorry Ari-chan. I won't bother you anymore'

Eiji turned and walked away.

'Come on Ari! Move!' Ari mentally screamed at herself. Somehow finding the courage, she ran after Eiji and hugged him for behind

"Ari-chan?" Eiji was surprised as he felt her arms around him and her warm tears on his back

"Eiji-kun..Baka, baka, baka neko. Eiji-kun no baka!" Ari sobbed quietly still hugging him

Eiji turned around and held on to the girl's shoulders, "Nani Ari-chan! Ari are you crying? Did I do something bad again? Gomen ne. Gomen ne Ari-chan"

"No..no you didn't do anything bad. I..I've just been waiting for those words for a long time." Ari murmured quietly, "I like you too Eiji-kun"

"R-really?" Eiji smiled in disbelieve.

"Yes" Ari nodded

"Then..would you go out with me?" Eiji asked shyly

"Baka Eiji-kun. Yes..I will" Eiji couldn't help but hug the girl in front of him. Everything felt so right then. It was like he had everything he'd ever wanted, everything that he'd ever need.

Ari looked up at the boy she adored. His eyes locked on hers. Before they knew it, their head was tilting towards each other and their lips had barely touched before they pulled apart, face flushed red.

"Ari-chan kawaii nyaa!" Eiji glomped her tightly.

"Nee Eiji-kun. Let go!" Ari laughed

"Iie. Never" Eiji replied as he took her hand in his, "I'll walk you home"

"Mmkay" Ari smiled as she held his hand. They walked home in complete silence, just enjoying one another.

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Scarlet: Aaaaaah! Finally! How was that chapter? I was having such a terrible time in real life. My boyfriend dumped me after promising me a life together T____T. I decided that even if I can't have a happy day. Ari can still have a happy day for me! We'll, now that they're together, what is gonna happen? Is Eiji not gonna be able to focus on tennis? Well, read and find out on the next chapter of: Adoration of a Neko. Read and Review everyone! Please and thank you all.


	7. Just Another Normal Day

Krymson: Yay! Chapter 7. I'm really into Prince of Tennis again right now. Kikumaru Eiji is so darn cute!

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Chapter 7: Just Another Normal Day

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"Onii-chan! I'm leaving" Ari shouted as she finished wearing her shoes

"Take care Imouto" Tezuka's voice came from the kitchen

"Hai!" Ari happily adjusted her shoe again before carefully locking the door and running towards her destination

Before she got there however, she walked through the park and saw someone jogging in place. Someone very familiar with green bandanna.

"Kaidoh-kun!" Ari waved her hand happily

"Fsshhh" He nodded his head towards her and nodded

"Hpmh" Ari turned her head away, crossed her hand, and tapped her foot, "What have we talked about?"

"Uh.." Kaidoh was lost for words

"Kaidoh.."

"Fshhh. Ohayo Ari-senpai" Kaidoh muttered quietly

"Ohayo Kaidoh-kun!"Ari smiled like nothing had happened, "Are you doing a morning jog on your day off Kaidoh-kun?"

He nodded

"Mmkay! Have fun Kaidoh-kun!" Ari smiled happily

"Fsssh" Kaidoh nodded, gave Ari a pat on the head and then jogged away.

"Ack! I'm gonna be late!" Ari started walked the other way

She got to the shopping district just in time to see Momoshiro run after some guy.

"Eh? What's Momo-kun doing?" Ari asked herself out loud

"Ah! Ari-chan senpai" Ari heard a familiar voice

"Horio-kun?" Ari turned around and saw the group of four freshman standing there, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Momo-chan senpai just ran after a thief!" Horio shouted

"T-thief?" Ari asked looking towards the retreating bodies, "I wanna see too!"

She ran away ignoring the cries of Horio and the other freshmen

"Ahhh..where'd they go.." Ari had lost sight of Momoshiro some time ago, so she decided to wonder around the shops

"Nyaaa! Ari-chan!" I felt someone hug me and a short kiss on the cheek as soon as I walked in front of the ice cream shop

"Ehhh? E-Eiji-kun" Ari couldn't help but blush furiously before noticing Takashi there too, "Hello Taka-kun"

"Waaaah!! Ari-chan kawaii~" Eiji hugged her more, "Ne ne Ari-chan, want some ice cream?"

Eiji held out his ice cream cone for her.

"Ice cream. Ice cream!" Ari reached for the ice cream that Eiji was holding and took a lick. Eiji never let go of his cone so she ended up holding his hand too.

"Ne Ne Takashi, isn't Ari-chan so kawaii?" Eiji asked Kawamura who stood next to him with his soda

"Don't be stupid. My reflexes are Seigaku's best!" someone shouted from in front of us

They then saw what looked like Momoshiro on a bike..riding really fast with someone chasing him

"Wasn't..wasn't that Momoshiro and Fudomine's Kamio?" Kawamura asked

"Who's Seigaku's no.1 again?" Eiji glared at their retreating back

"Nani..?" Ari was too busy finishing Eiji's ice cream to noticed

"I'm gonna get Momo later nyaa!" Eiji turned back and was about to take a lick of his ice cream to notice that it was already all gone, "Uh..eeeeeh!! My ice cream!"

"Uh..um..gomenasai Eiji-kun" Ari bowed her head apologetically.

"It's okay Ari-chan" Eiji reassured her, "Oishi deska?"

"Hai! Very good" Ari replied

"Kawaii!" One again, Ari was glomped once again

The three of them decided to walk towards the tennis shop to do some shopping. Ari had bought a bag of chips to pay back for his ice cream

"Darn it.." Eiji popped another chip in his mouth, "That Momo..who's Seigaku's no.1 again?"

"Hahaha, he was just boasting" Takashi laughed, "But it's weird. Momo should be on shopping duty with Echizen.."

"Ah! Thief!"

"Hm?" The three of them turned towards the sound in front of them

"Thief?" Eiji and Kawamura was surprised when the same guy that Ari saw before came around the corner

"It's..it's dangerous. Hurry and leave.." Takashi stuttered trying to get the other two to leave

"Nani? We gotta stop him" Ari stated

"Hoi, Taka-san, the racket." Eiji thrusted his racket into Kawamura's hand

"Justice! I will protect the peace of this city!" Takashi declared loudly. Tossing his can of..coffee? Well, he tossed the can of something up and smashed it right at the thief. It smacked him right on the forehead

"Ahhhh! My racket!" Eiji shouted

"Take this!" Kawamura ran after the thief, waving Eiji's racket above his head

"My racket!" Eiji ran after Takashi

"Eiji-kun! Kawa-kun! Matte!" Ari ran after the both of them

We..ran a long long way before we stopped at the tennis store

"Ah..gomen, Eiji" Takashi had been apologizing the whole way there

"Eiji-kun, Taka-kun is really sorry" Ari added, tugging on Eiji's hand. The one that she was holding on the way there.

"It's fine. It needs repairing anyway" Eiji sighed and he held Ari's hand tighter

"Ah!!"

"Huh?" The three of them turned towards the voice again

"Kikumaru-senpai! Ari-chan senpai! Kawamura-senpai" Horio exclaimed as they walked into the shop

They were informed that Ryoma and and Fudomine's Shinji were fighting..well, not really fighting, just not letting go of black tennis tape.

"Kikumaru-senpai! Please stop those two!" Kachiro exclaimed

"Honya?" Eiji looked at the two again before declaring, "Go, Echizen! Even if you have to put Seigaku's name on the bet, you have to get it!"

"What?" The other 7th graders were desperate, "He's making it worst!"

"Ei-Eiji-kun! This is not the time to encourage them!" Ari shouted at the overly hyper red head

"Stop it! If Tezuka or Ryuzaki-sensei know about this, they're going to be mad!"

"Onii-chan will make you run more laps then you've ever done!" Ari added, try to get them to stop

"But we're still going to fight with Fudomine in the regional tournament" Eiji reasoned, "We would look bad if we lose now! Go o'chibi!"

They ended up buying the tape and carrying the bag out of the shop together

"You see..it's troublesome for the shop, so just decide on who gets it somewhere else" Kawamura stated

"Mou..where did Momo-chan senpai go?" Horio cried as the rest of the 7th grader sat in despair

"Momo..I just saw him running to the tennis court with Kamio a while ago" Kawamura answered

'Hm..I wanna go to the street courts but I wanna watch this too' Ari though to herself, 'Now..what should I do?'

In the end, she decided to stay to watch the mini match between Ryoma and Shinji

"Yosh. If you lose, you have to drink Inui's special vegetable juice in one gulp!" Eiji declared

"No way!" Ryoma declared

"What is that?" Shinji asked

"You don't want to know" Ryoma replied

They had decided that whoever stopped the their would get the tape. Ryoma's twist serve stopped the thief, making Ryoma the winner

"Now, be a man and go to the police" Kawamura knelt next to the thief

Someone then appeared behind him. Someone..battered and beat up

"Kaidoh?" Kawamura asked

"K-Kaidoh-kun? Are you okay?" Ari asked him

Kaidoh gripped a tennis ball in his hand..and he looked ready to kill.

"Wow, you look beaten.." Eiji exclaimed, "Did you do some extra training again?"

"You.."Kaidoh gritted out, "You..bastard!"

"Stop it Kaidoh!" Eiji had to hold Kaidoh back from killing the thief

"Oi! Sorry for being late!" Momoshiro and Kamio walked up to the group

"Momo-chan senpai" Horio looked happy to see him

As soon as Eiji saw Momo, he immediately ran towards him and forgot about holding Kaidoh back.

"Momo. Who has the best reflexes in Seigaku again?" Eiji demanded

Ari had to hold Eiji back this time

"Eh? Momo seem confused

"Momo!" Eiji was getting louder now

"Calm down Kikumaru-senpai!" Momo cried, "Ari-chan stop Kikumaru-senpai!"

"I'm trying" Ari cried too, "Eiji-kun, calm down!"

"Mada Mada Dane"

Just..another normal day it seem

**------Time Lapse------**

"Gomen ne Ari-chan" Eiji sighed as he walked Ari home

"Hm? Why?" Ari looked at Eiji who's hand she was intertwined with

"I was too excited today and forgot all about our date. I'm a bad boyfriend" He muttered

"Iie, Eiji-kun. I had fun today" Ari smiled, "It was..interesting"

"Honto ne?" Eiji looked at her as they stood at the front of her house

"Mmhmm" Ari replied, "The ice cream was good. Anyway, don't be late for practice tomorrow. Onii-chan's gonna make you run a lot of laps"

"Hai hai" Eiji sighed as Ari let go of his hand, "Um..will you be at morning practice tomorrow?"

"Baka Eiji-kun. Of course I will" Ari replied

"Ja ne, Ari-chan. I'll see you tomorrow then"

"Ja ne Eiji-kun"

Ari was walking towards her house when she turned around and saw Eiji there still waiting. A moment passed before she decided to walk towards him and tugged on his shirt.

"Nani?" Eiji lowered his head. In a moment, he felt Ari kiss his cheek. It was quick but he didn't miss it.

Ari pulled away quickly and looked flustered, "J-ja ne Eiji-kun"

She ran towards the house and closed it behind her. Her face was beat red.

"Imouto?" Tezuka stood in front of her, "Are you okay? You look flushed"

"H-hai Onii-chan" Ari murmured, "I'm going to skip finner today"

Not waiting for his reply, Ari headed straight towards her room, finished her homework, and went to bed dreaming of a certain red head.

--------------------------------------

Krymson: So..that's chapter 7! Tell me what you think.


	8. Date?

Krymson: Thank you LadyLadington for your comment. I was thinking of the date between the two. :3

**----------------------------------**

**Chapter 8: Date?**

**----------------------------------**

"Nyaa Ari-chan!" Someone jumped on Ari's back as soon as they walked into the courts, "You're late"

"Well, I wouldn't be late if someone hadn't left me to do all the cleaning" Ari retorted

"Mou..gomen ne Ari-chan nyaa" Eiji pouted that cute, adorable..pout, "I'll make it up to you ne?"

"Hm..maybe" Ari thought quietly to herself

"How about a date?" Eiji suggested

"Date?"

"Nyaa. Right after practice?" Eiji asked, "Um..unless you're too busy?"

"Nono. I'd love that" Ari blushed. It would be their first official date.

"Yay!" Eiji gave her a kiss on the cheek before returning to practice. A smile upon his face. Ari on the other hand, was read as a tomato.

No body expected todays training would be..that hard. Since it was only 9 days until the tournament. Inui had came up with a special training menu. Full court against half court. In 5 rallys, if you make a mistake you would have to try Inui's new juice.

Eiji and Kaidoh looked like they've just seen a horrible, horrible flashback

**Kawamura vs Kaidoh**

Since it was half court, Kaidoh's snake wasn't as effective. In the end..Kaidoh lost to Kawamura. Poor Kaidoh..Inui's drink..knocked him out.

'I..don't ever wanna drink that' I murmured to myself, '..no way in hell'

**Oishi vs Momoshiro**

Oishi got full court while Momoshiro had half. Seeing Kaidoh knocked out. They've both got new determination not to lose. Momoshiro was lucky though. His Dunk Smash was too strong for Oishi to handle and lost grip of his racket. Oishi on the other hand..wasn't as lucky. After he drank the juice, he started to run towards to exit, tripped over the cooler, and fainted there.

**Tezuka vs Fuji**

Fuji lost to Tezuka. Partly because of the fact that Tezuka had not wanted to drink Inui's drink. They other half was the fact that Fuji wanted to taste it.

Something weird happened though, when Inui handed Fuji the juice, it was plain water. Where did the real vegetable juice go? Tezuka acted very strange after the match.

Inui..revealed his secret juice. Something..brown..and very scary

"I had wanted to reserve this for the tournament, but it seems as though as I have to use it now" Inui exclaimed proudly, "Ari-chan, would you like the first taste? I just finished it yesterday. Golden Power Remix Inui Juice"

"Uh.." Ari was lost for words although her mind scream, 'NO WAY. NO WAY.'

"Inui! Don't feed Ari-chan your weird drinks nyaa!"

"Inui, please refrain from giving my Imouto one of your concoctions"

"Oh well" Inui murmured, "This is for the match between Kikumaru and Echizen"

It was quite a match. None of them wanted to drink it..I mean, who would? Ryoma had done one of Eiji's acrobatic play surprising Eiji, but it had been already 5 rallys by then, making Eiji the winner. Although Eiji was hit in the head with one of the ball.

Ryuzaki-sensei came just after the practice to talk about the 108 schools who would be in the tournament. It was going to be a hard battle to the top. As they continued to practice, Ari noticed Tezuka gripping his left shoulder

"Onii-chan? Daijobuka?" Ari asked her brother worriedly, "Is it hurting again?"

"Ah..nothing big Imouto, don't worry about it" was Tezuka's reply

"Hai Onii-chan" Ari murmured but still kept a close eye on Tezuka. He was not one to tell anyone he was in pain

**-----Time Lapse-----**

"Nyaaa! I'm go glad I didn't have to drink Inui's new juice" Eiji happily shouted as he and Ari walked down the shopping district

"I don't believe it was actually edible" Ari laughed as he intertwined his hand with hers, "I feel sorry for Ryoma-kun"

"Me too, but it doesn't mean I would take O'chibi's place though" Eiji stated with one of his grins

"Hai hai Eiji-kun. Me either" Ari replied

"Ne Ari-chan? Are you hungry? Do you..um..wanna go eat somewhere?" Eiji asked looking away from her

"Hm..I am kinda hungry" Ari decided, "Let's go to Takashi-san's sushi place!"

"Nee Ari-chan, you like sushi a lot huh?" Eiji smiled at the hyper girl next to him

"Mmhmm. I do" Ari smiled back at him, "I can't help it. It's so very yummy!"

"Then lets go" Eiji and Ari walked towards Takashi's family sushi shop when Ari stopped in her tracks and looked around

"Ari-chan? Daijobuka?" Eiji asked as he saw his girlfriend looking around her

"Eiji-kun, I keep getting the feeling that someone's been following us ever since we left school" Ari murmured

"You might be just imagining it" Eiji tried to reassure her, "Still want to get some sushi?"

"Mmkay" Ari forgot about the feeling of being watched and walked towards the shop once again.

**-----With our uh..stalkers-----**

"Momo-senpai" Ryoma tried to get the attention of the older guy, "You know Ari-chan will get mad if we keep following them"

"It's fine. It's fine. We just have stay unnoticed by them" Momoshiro flashed a toothy smile

"Then what about the camera in your hand?" Ryoma asked again only to be shushed by Momo

"Saaa..I think it would be interesting if we kept following them" Fuji had on one of his innocent smiles. Innocent and harmless..but we all know it's not..right?

"I think this will be important data for me" Inui scribbled more things in his notebook

"Mada mada dane.." Ryoma sighed as he was dragged along

**-----Eiji and Ari-----**

"Konnichiwa!" Ari shouted out as Eiji opened the sliding door for her, "Taka-san?"

"Oooh. Konnichiwa Ari-chan, Kikumaru. Are you two on a date?" He asked looking at their linked hands

"Uh.." Eiji was flustered

"Mmhmm! Eiji-kun's taking me out for sushi!" Ari replied with no hesitation, "I would love to have my usual please"

"Okay, one California roll coming right up" Taka-san laughed

"One anago too please" Eiji ordered as they sat down on the stools.

"Your sushi is always the best Taka-san" Ari happily popped another roll in her mouth

"Hahaha! Thank you" Taka-san watched as the couple finished their 2nd plate of sushi and were on their 3rd.

"Ne ne Ari-chan" Eiji caught her attention, "Wanna try one of my anago sushi nyaa?"

"Mmkay" Ari held out her hand but Eiji only shook his head and place the sushi in front of her lips

"Open up"

Shaking, Ari open her lips as Eiji place the sushi in her mouth with a smile before licking the extra rice off his fingers

"Is it good?" Eiji asked her but Ari could only nod slowly

**-----Stalkers-----**

"Did you see that?" Momo exclaimed, "Chaaa! I didn't believe Eiji-senpai had it in him!"

"And you got a photo to remember it by too" Fuji added

"Senpai, can I go home yet?" Ryoma asked for the 5th time

"I have gotten more information on Ari and Kikumaru then I'd expected!" Inui proclaimed, "This was worth the adventure!"

**-----Eiji and Ari-----**

"Ne Ari-chan? Where do you want to go?" Eiji asked

"Hm..anywhere is fine with me" Ari replied, "Where do you like to go?"

"I've got just the place nyaa!" Eiji guided Ari to one of this favorite places to hang out

"Kawaiii!!!" Ari held up a fluffy white kitten, "I didn't know you loved visiting the pet shops"

"Yea" Eiji scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, "The animals are cute nyaa"

"Mmmhmm, yes they are" Ari rubbed her nose with the kitten she was holding, only to be tackled by Eiji again

"Kawaii Ari-chan." Eiji kissed her on the cheek

"Eiji! Watch out for the kitten!"

**-----Stalkers-----**

'Click'

'Click'

'Click'

"Darn it, I;m running out of film" Momoshiro muttered as he looked at his camera, "Only one left"

"You should save it Momoshiro," Inui suggested, "I am 90% sure that there would be a photo worth taking later on

**-----Eiji and Ari-----**

They were once again in front of Ari's house. Eiji had taken her for some ice cream after the pet shop. Then they had visited the park and bookstore.

"Nee Eiji-kun" I really had fun today" Ari murmured looking down

"Nyaa..me too Ari-chan" Eiji replied

They then looked at each other shyly as a blush appeared on their faces. Slowly, and cautiously, their faces inched closer towards one another until finally, Eiji kissed Ari lightly on the lips

'CLICK'

Hearing that sound. Both of them broke apart. Eiji took a tennis ball and aimed it towards the bushes

"Itai!!" Momoshiro's head popped up

"Momo-kun!" Ari gasped until she saw the rest of them. Inui, Fuji and Ryoma also appeared.

"Huh! What are you guys doing here!" Eiji asked

"N-nothing Eiji-senpai" Momo tried to hide the camera behind his back but failed miserably

"Ah! Momo-kun give me that camera!" Ari ran towards Momoshiro who in turn, ran away, "MOMO-KUN"

"Ahh! Eiji-senpai, keep Ari-chan away from me!" Momo-cried running from Ari

"MOMO-KUN. GET BACK HERE!"

"EEIIIYAAAH!! GOMEN NE ARI-CHAN!"

"Saa..I don't think Momoshiro will survive" Fuji stated calmly

"Momo deserved it Fujiko" Eiji stated, "Remind me never to get on Ari-chan's bad side"

"Ari-chan senpai is..scary" Ryoma muttered

"This is perfect data" Inui reported scribbling more things in his notebook as they watched Ari chase Momo into the sunset.

**------------------------------**

Krymson: Okay everyone. I tried to do a date with Eiji and Ari. This was what popped in my head. Hope you like it.


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